Schwartz Lifts #21 Spartans Over Tritons
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Tampa
|
1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 17 | 3 |
|
Eckerd
|
1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 0 |
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - A ninth-inning single off the bat of designated hitter Mike Schwartz lifted the No. 21 University of Tampa baseball team over Eckerd College 9-8 on Friday night in each team's first Sunshine State Conference game of the season. The win moves the Spartans to 13-5 overall, 1-0 in the SSC, while the Tritons fall to 10-3 and 0-1 in league play.
The start of the game saw both teams trading runs. Correy Figueroa led off the game with a single and a stolen base before Brad Roberts singled to put runners on the corners. Schwartz singled in Figueroa to give Tampa the early 1-0 lead, but the Tritons answered in the bottom half of the frame with a Chris Clinton solo home run.
The Spartans added another in the second when Figueroa singled in Tyler Cox, who stroked a triple to left center to reach base. Eckerd once again followed with their own run before Jared Simon hit his seventh homer of the season in the third to put Tampa up 3-2.
The Tritons got to Tampa starter Josh Bowman in the bottom of the third, tallying three runs off the righty before Kris Castellanos entered. UT fought its way back in the fourth and fifth to regain the lead. After tying the contest, pinch-hitter Devin Gonzalez blasted a two-run shot to right-center to make it 7-5 in favor of the Spartans and a Mike Blanke single in the eighth pushed the score to 8-5.
Castellanos kept Eckerd off the board until the eighth when the Tritons collected three runs to tie the ballgame yet again. The lefthander finished the contest with four and two thirds innings pitched, allowing three runs on three hits while striking out six before Tom Meagher entered with no outs in the eighth.
Schwartz came through in the ninth with a one-out rope to centerfield to score senior Brad Roberts from second base and give the Spartans the 9-8 edge. After a 1-2-3 ninth, Meagher (2-0) picked up his second win of the season for Tampa.
The Spartans and Tritons will continue their series tomorrow afternoon for a 1 p.m. doubleheader. Fans may also follow University of Tampa athletics on Twitter (www.twitter.com/utspartans) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/tampaspartans). UT also offers eScores, a free text messaging service that sends text alerts following all Spartan events. To sign up, please register at www.tampaspartans.com.